The Barking Mad Warehouse

The "W" Sapce is here...

2009-03-06T20:34:00.004-05:00

The Darkness at The End of The Tunnel
reported by CCP Abathur on: 2009.03.05 14:56:36

Where are you going?"

"If I told you, you'd never let me go."

Greetings, warriors, mission runners, pirates, miners and hapless victims! I'm not sure if you've heard or not but we've got a new expansion coming out that has these things called wormholes. This blog is intended to help familiarize you with what you can expect from this new feature and try to remove some, but not all, of the grey area. Before we begin, I want to clarify a couple terms you are going to see throughout this blog:

K-space = Known Space, the current systems of New Eden. These are the systems where, depending on your play style, you run your missions, mine your rocks or just plain bash the crap out of each other on a daily basis.

W-space = this is Wormhole Space. This is where the wormholes will take you, should you be brave enough to scan one down and enter it.

So, where are these wormholes?

Well, they are all around you! They are not limited to just one area of space. You can find them in every class of system in EVE. Chances are if you go out looking for one that you will find one in short order by using the new scanning system that CCP Greyscale will explain in greater detail in another blog. What you are searching for will look somewhat like this:

Now, it might be that this particular wormhole takes you on a trip directly to another K-space system but bear in mind that the end destination is going to be random. It will most likely to take you somewhere within the same security class as you started (hisec, lowsec or nullsec) but there is always enough of a random chance that it could land you anywhere. A wormhole stumbled upon in Jita might link to New Caldari (bah!) or to Rens (profit!) or to Rancer (yikes!).

The other place you can end up is what I'm sure you all really want to hear about: W-space.

Descent into Darkness

W-space is where the wonder begins. It is where the riches are. It is where the monsters lurk. Out here is where you will find things you've never seen before in EVE. Some will amaze you while others will probably make you wish you'd left your faction-fit Nightmare docked back in the comparative safety of ‘normal' space.

Of course, not all wormholes are created equal. If you enter a wormhole in a hi-sec system you'll likely end up in the W-space version of the shallow end of the kiddie pool. Enemies here are still quite a challenge compared to ‘normal' NPC's, but if you've made it this far then you're prepared for that, right? Proper preparation, a well fit ship and maybe a few friends along will allow you to explore with confidence.

However, no matter where you start, there is always the risk that you will land down in the deep end. This is more apt to happen when your entry point is low or null sec. Regardless of where you come from, if you enter, be careful what you awaken. Out here, the NPCs are big, angry and carry around baseball bats with nails in them. Obviously they are also guarding the most lucrative rewards.

Lack of foresight out here will result in you being in a pod and having to rely upon a friend to use his probe launcher (he did fit one, right??) to help you find a way home. This is not an altogether easy thing either.

While there will always be a way ‘out' of whatever W-space system you are in, there are no guarantees that it will take you where you want to go. The mechanic is deliberately designed so that you can get lost and it may take some time for you to escape back to K-space with whatever treasures you've managed to salvage. The only sure fire option that will get you where you want to go is to eject in your pod and clone jump home the old fashioned way.

One additional point - none of the above takes into account the other intrepid explorers who you might run across... or who might run across you at the worst possible time. Don't bother glancing at your ‘Local' chat channel; out here in the darkness, the only warning you will get is what your eyes or your scanners give you.

This is what true exploration is all about.

The ‘Mass' Effect

In the end, everything about wormholes comes down to one factor - mass. You can think of the ‘mass budget' of a wormhole much the same as fuel in car; once it's empty, everything stops. Wormholes become more and more unstable as things pass through them, things like your starship. Once a certain threshold is passed, the wormhole collapses and hopefully you are on the side you want to be when this happens because there is no going back and you'll have to find a new way home.

There are several ‘indicators' that can assist you in determining if a wormhole is close to closing. For one thing, as a wormhole's mass budget is reduced you will actually see them get physically smaller. Additionally, you can always right-click and ‘Show Info' on any wormhole and be presented with the following information:

The text in the information box is dynamic and changes as the stability of the wormhole is altered.

Wormholes come in different ‘sizes'. In simple terms this means that your ship may not always fit into the wormhole you find. Wormholes have a maximum ship mass that can transit through them. This prevents ‘bad things' from happening like... a squadron of carriers ending up in Jita or something. This will present you with some interesting dilemmas if you are in W-space looking for a way out. Not every ‘exit' may be one you can use!

As a wormhole's mass budget does not regenerate, any expedition into W-space will require careful forethought. A wormhole may be a two-way street but every passage deducts from the overall budget. This means that once you commit to an exploration and go through there are no ‘do-overs'. Be sure of what you want to take with you.

Lastly, there is one other factor that affects wormhole stability and that is time. Once you find a wormhole that you want to use, you will need to move swiftly to take advantage of it as all wormholes have a maximum stable lifetime after which they will collapse whether anyone has gone through them or not.

Laws of W-space

As fun as it is to let you find out things for yourselves, there are a few things that I need to tell you without being ‘mysterious'.

Starbases are allowed to be anchored in W-space but cannot claim sovereignty. Additionally, there are no minable moon minerals in W-space.

The wormholes into W-space are too small to allow the transit of Titans and Motherships. All dreams of Quad-DDing a Sleeper fleet, as much as they might deserve it, are now shattered. (Awww!)

Even though you can bring your Rorquals into W-space, their clone vat bay functionality will be unavailable.

You cannot activate a cynosural beacon in W-space nor can you activate your jump drive (on those ships equipped with one) to escape.

Tactical Environments

Oh, yeah... one last bit of info. Far too often does the dangerous turn mundane so we've introduced a final element that lends itself to destabilizing that. As I've said, in W-space you will see things you've never seen in EVE before. Black Holes, Pulsars and Red Giants are just some of these wonders.

So when you enter a wormhole system and see something ‘unusual' off your port bow, proceed with the knowledge that some of the things you know about how your ship performs may no longer be true. Your ship drives may push you faster, your weapons may hit harder, you may find yourself with no shields or less effective armor... and just when you think you've got it all figured out, things may change again!

Welcome to W-space and enjoy your stay... however long it might be!

- Abathur

Asteroids: Redux

2009-03-06T20:32:00.003-05:00

New Dev Blog: Miners Rejoice!
Reported by CCP VanishingPoint on 2009.03.04 17:53:37

The asteroids are getting a facelift. Better than that actually, the asteroids are now going to communicate their value through brilliant graphical treatments.

I am CCP VanishingPoint and I am directing Team Hot Rocks the team responsible for delivering the new Asteroid and Ice content for Apocrypha. The team has been hard at work creating new meshes, normal maps, textures and shaders that work to communicate the complex composition of each Ore with a unique style. Our artists have been painstakingly sculpting new meshes from which we are rendering all or of our Normal Maps, Ambient Occlusion Maps, and Depth Maps while others researched and built textures to represent the minerals peeking through the cracks of each rock.

Most exciting for me is the shader tech being created to facilitate the over 70 unique looking asteroid and ice styles being delivered with this new expansion. We built all of the assets from the ground up to take advantage of a specific blending and rendering technique used within our new asteroid shader. This shader can yield dozens of unique graphical styles while using the exact same base assets. That is not the extent of what is getting packed into the Asteroid shader either. The graphics gurus here are throwing around terms like BRDF, Bent Normals, and Sub Surface Scatter with reckless abandon…

It is worth noting that we were not satisfied with simply replacing each of the current assets with a single new replacement asset. Instead each Asteroid now has many different potential rock meshes that could be loaded into a Belt. These different meshes we have dubbed “Shards” since many of them look as if they shattered from a single larger Asteroid at some point in time.

The low-sec asteroids received some additional care and feature some truly spectacular graphical effects making them desirable both for their potential yield as well as just to behold. In the posted screen shot you will see a mixed field of Veldspar, Pyroxeres, Plagioclase, and even a few bits of Bistot. We are in the final tweaking stages for each and every asteroid and expect to deliver some of the finest rocks known to gaming.

- CCP VanishingPoint

An update to the: EVE Biggest Exploit Issue...

2008-12-11T20:23:00.011-05:00

Look at that... what a shocking surprise. I have seen something strange going on with the advanced materials prices for more than a year and a half now, this explains allot.

Personally this is what we should worry about: "Working with the Research & Statistics team we have established that the effects on the markets have been considerable and far reaching." and "On December 7th 2008, a date which will live in infamy, a petition from a concerned player alerted us to a serious problem with Starbase reactors."

This inconsistency bothers me allot. Because, after doing some research, gathering admittedly anecdotal evidence from sources inside and outside the game - this exploit is older than 12 months. What is shocking is that certain entities at CCP knew of its existence and chose to ignore it. Why I think this is the case? Because, CCP never addresses an issue until it become a nightmare, they never act unless their backs against the wall - we have seen this over and over again, repeated over many years.

The issue with the cost of T2 materials has been going on for too long, and most of EVE players have experienced it. We cannot rely on the fact that this has been an isolated incident, this was a widespread exploitation, and we were all touched by it.

Questions and needs.... now... are these:

CCP needs to make clear the extent of the exploit, and come clean as to why it was overlooked for so long. And try not to repeat the "Ghost Training" fiasco - hey T0rfi, I hope you doing well mate.

CCP needs to explain to all the players which actions were taken against which entities, because from what I have learned, the real culprits have not been punished. And, number of out of EVE Online Forum sources have listed the speculation that "ALT/MAIN" accounts were purchased by these people specifically to safeguard themselves for such an event as we are experiencing now.

Alliances, and corporations that were involved in it need to be disbanded. Something like this would not go unnoticed in an alliance of 10,000 players, much less in something like what 500-2,000 players that were supposedly part of those involved. If not on personal level, then on CORPORATE level they are responsible, and such need to be terminated as entities. They were all complicit, if only by observing the code of silence because "it helped their alliance."

All assets, all corporate, and alliance assets must be seized. All assets of CEOs, and ruling elite have to be seized. And recent transfers from corporate hangars traced and seized as well. And, I do not care if they ban them, just make sure to let the players know the names, the EVE population will deal with them swiftly themselves.

Oh well, I am not surprised at CCP, I would not be surprised if CCP Employees were involved in this as well, or that they have learned through petition about it, and have been abusing this mechanic themselves for personal gain. I am also fairly certain that the amount of ISK collected did not all go to wars and T2 BPOs, I am sure a significant amount of it have wound up for sale on E-Bay and other RMT places.

Biggest Exploit in EVE History?

2008-12-11T19:32:00.008-05:00

Update Regarding The Starbase Exploit
Reported by GM Grimmi, 2008.12.11, at 13:29:29 GMT

On December 7th 2008, a date which will live in infamy, a petition from a concerned player alerted us to a serious problem with Starbase reactors. The petition had been filed five days earlier, a far longer waiting time than we can accept with our current queue status and we have now taken measures to fix that. We immediately started investigating the issue and found that there was indeed a problem and that it was being exploited to gain unfair advantages.

We discovered seven corporations with multiple Starbases set up for the express purpose of exploiting the issue. Three of those corporations were members of two alliances. We took immediate action against the offenders and banned over 70 accounts and destroyed all the Starbases run by the corporations in question. All the offending corporations are now effectively inactive as a result of our actions.

The corporations were producing high end materials for T2 production. Working with the Research & Statistics team we have established that the effects on the markets have been considerable and far reaching. The effects of our actions against the exploiters will also be felt on the market as the production of the materials has been cut substantially. However, supply should increase again once players have mastered the alchemy process.
We are still conducting operations to deal with this matter and we will keep you posted on the progress and results as things develop.

Update: This matter will be brought up at a CSM and CCP meeting this upcoming weekend.

Please discuss this news in this forum thread.

CCP Zulupark - A Good move forward... finally!

2008-10-24T21:34:00.007-04:00

What does 5 Dev Blogs, New Expansion, a Nerf, and a Dev Chat have in common? Well, and the answer is: CCP Zulupark.

By the way, I have found the reason why I got banned from the forums, I shall discuss that later. What is imperative right now is to do the right thing and encourage CCP on the road to redemption. We have all heard already about the infamous thread (participation in which had caused my ignoble downfall from the forums) or, the new Live Dev Blog: Introducing CCP T0rfifrans - well what do you know it did not go so well. But, I am not gleeful, I am actually quite impressed with how CCP Zulupark handled the disaffected masses.

Since everyone was already upset about the upcoming nerfs, and combine it with the recent nerf to the "Unsubscribed Training" aka "Ghost Training, tensions were running high, and the community was getting really angry about the uninformative blog. Following that, CCP Zulupark announced that he will answer every single question from the EVE community, asked on forums between Friday the 24th of October, and Midnight, Sunday the 26th of October. The announcement by CCP Wrangler can be found here, and the actual "answers" thread can be found here. By the way, I did get a chance to ask my questions, with my trusted sikrit [sic] ALT - and no, you can't know who it is, the character is in case I get banned forever, and actually need to ask a question!

This is what I call courage, and dedication. This is what reminds me of what this game was like 5, nay, 3 years ago! This is how CCP used to handle things. They would go out of their way to answer player questions - they would never insulate themselves from the community, well in the past anyway.

Now, I am very much impressed, and I think that it might actually start healing up allot of wounds within the community which were caused by years of neglect, and half-truths, and outright and deliberate misinformation.

Question is, will this practice continue? Will the people who are in charge of CCP realize that it might be the greatest opportunity they have ever had to win their community back, and over again. Will the developers, who would come following in CCP Zulupark's footsteps find themselves bored, inattentive, and bothered by the questions? Will they find strength to answer them honestly? Only time will tell.

Until then, I want to congratulate CCP Zulupark on finding courage, and showing dedication I have not seen in many years. Thus far CCP Zulupark has made a personal decision to do this, and I encourage CCP, if any CCP Member ever reads this, to take his example, and turn it into a monthly or bi-weekly practice. All cutsie wootsie "Live" and mostly uninformative dev blogs aside, this is how things should be done. Q & A Session for 48 Hours, we ask questions, then a Developer comes back and answers them.

Perhaps CCP Wrangler should take up that responsibility, he is the community manager, he should take the questions and forward them to the appropriate people, and then post the answers, if the other guys are too busy. This is what Kieron used to do.

Developers need to come to the forums, and answer questions, allot of questions, alway answer questions. Do not hide behind a paragraph in a blog that tells us nothing, be open, be accessible, be approachable, come down from the Hig-Tech Ivory Tower and talk to us.

A good start CCP, or rather CCP Zulupark, my hat is off to you sir.

I now know why I got banned by CCP

2008-10-24T07:33:00.011-04:00

As many of you are aware, by now, I have been banned by CCP from posting on forums for 14 days due to the "personal attack" on CCP T0rfifrans. My so-called "attack" can be seen here:

I believe that the ban happened due to this:

As you can clearly see that CCP T0rfi has experienced some degree of personal emergency, and thus was unable to attend.

Due to misguided personal, or corporate loyalty, a CCP Moderator took it upon themselves to "defend" CCP Torfi from the "evil" Jinx Barker, who so callously suggested that he be fired, or that CCP further cover up the muddling and miscommunication by checking him into rehab, at the time of his "personal need."

First, notice the time stamps on the messages, this further reinforces my theory that CCP Moderators went on the offensive without actually thinking through what their actions will entail. My question is why did they not tell us initially as to why CCP Torfi was not attending, thus fueling speculation and further suggestions of the cover up?

I think my, admittedly edgy, comment has hit close to home with CCP. The suggestion that CCP use some sort of "medical emergency" to remove CCP T0rfi from the participation in the Live Dev Blog just happens to be true, granted it is not a "rehab" story, but any intelligent person can see the correlation between the comment, and the actual event.

I have already mentioned the self-censure of the expletive, and that I made sure I have stayed within the forum rules.

The comment above has nothing to do with CCP T0rfi personally, it simply states a hope that he be dismissed from CCP for his dismal handling of the "Ghost Training" debacle, and then suggest, very much "tongue-in-cheek" manner that CCP will attempt to cover everything up ala "US Senators caught drunk driving" or "US Senators caught with underage boys" - where they promptly go into rehab to "deal with their problems" - thus trying to elicit public sympathy, or at least minimize calls for investigation, because: "poor man, he has to go to the rehab, we must feel bad for him, it is the alcohol, that is what caused the problem, he is not really a pervert, or a drunk!"

Whatever the case maybe, the unexpected medical emergency of CCP Torfifrans has certainly put a dampener on the whole thing. We as human beings can not help but feel affinity and sympathy for someone who is going through a tough time, of whatever sort. This in turn played right into the hands of CCP, and allowed them to go on the offensive, because, god forbid anyone hurt CCP T0rfi's feeling at such a time - EVEN IF THEY WERE NOT AWARE OF IT (this is where the time stamp on the messages comes in) - such an evil person Jinx Barker is, suggesting CCP Torfi be fired, and or that CCP would stoop so low as to claim some sort of medical issue!

Bottom Line:

Anonymous CCP Developer or CCP Moderator has taken a very personal approach, and had a knee-jerk reaction when my post appeared on the second page of that thread. They have chosen, in the fit of smug self-righteous fury to punish me as best they could for my vocal opposition to the cancelation of the "Unsubbed Training" aka "Ghost Training." This was a ban of opportunity, nothing more, nothing less. They have found a way to remove me from the forums, and thus remove any and all "non-meme" arguments I might present in defense of the player base. The hope is, that by the time I return things would have quieted down, and dust settled, and the "New CCP Order" would be established.

To all EVE players, I urge you to argue and fight for your game. Do not allow some misguided and greedy elements within the CCP to shut you up, or to force you out. They, the developers, are just like us, yes, we can be petty, and childish, and slightly ornery, but when the time comes, we should also do the right thing.

When you are a developer of the game like EVE Online, and have to deal with the large and diverse community, one must put aside infantile tendencies, one must put aside personal smugness, one must think and act like an adult, which did not happen, unfortunately, in this case.

Best Regards,

J.B.

CCP New Low....

2008-10-23T07:14:00.010-04:00

CCP Wrangler Recently Posted this:

"It's time for another Live Dev Blog and this time we're introducing CCP t0rfifrans. CCP t0rfifrans started as Lead 3D Artist but is now the Senior Producer for EVE Online and will answer all your EVE related questions and as always the Live Dev Blog will be hosted by Mindstar. This event will take place on Thursday, 23rd October, in the in-game channel "Live Dev Blog". It starts at 20:00 GMT and lasts for about one hour.

To ask your questions, please post them in this thread!"

Update: Unfortunately we just heard that CCP t0rfifrans is unable to make it for this Live Dev Blog. CCP Zulupark, Associate Producer and Content Director, will take his place. As CCP Zulupark reports directly to CCP t0rfifrans he will be able to answer all your questions just as well."

I have replied to the "update"

"Shocking... please tell me you fired him, or at least that he had to "go to the rehab" and he is very sorry about unauthorized dev blogs about removal of "Ghost Training" and he will get all the help he needs to come back better than ever!

Hey, it works for the USA politicians when they f**k up - its REHAB TIME!!!!"

Full image of my response - and now deleted post can be seen by clicking this link: POST Image

I have received a 14 day BAN from posting from CCP/EVE Online - Stating that I personally attacked CCP T0rfifrans!!! My POST WAS NOT CENSORED - IT WAS DELETED BY CCP. Not only that - but I have not even used foul language in that post to raise the flags, I self censored the 4 letter word with the stars myself.

So it is now a crime on forums to even suggest that CCP fire one of its employees for incompetence, it is now a PERSONAL ATTACK. CCP is going all out to stifle any piercing descent from its new "hard line" views. Using humor is now outlawed as well.

It is a crime, ladies and gentlemen, to use a little humor, because to suggest that in order to cover up their misdeeds CCP will send one of its employees to the fictional rehab is A PERSONAL ATTACK.

CCP sinking pretty low - I fully intend to file a complaint with the CCPs IA department - and if any CSM should read my blog, you guys should think as to what is happening.

If any of the sensible people read my blogs, I would ask that is brought to CSM attention as well.

A Question from a Newbie....

2008-10-20T13:36:00.000-04:00

Jaben Thore asked me on forums, in the "Newly De-cloaked" thread on Ghost training:

"Mr Barker, as I'm new, could you please help me out on the main point you made..

If CCP wanted more money, wouldn't it be more profitable for them to keep ghost training in? As you (and many others) have highlighted before, many of the alt accounts, along with a significant proportion of the main accounts, will be deleted as a result of this controversial bug fix. Surely this will result in an overall loss of revenue for CCP?

As CCP have presided over a successful MMO business for quite some time now, i'd be surprised if they hadn't taken this in to consideration before hand. Perhaps their reasoning is based on a fundamental belief that the current ghost training set up goes against the interests of the average player and a sense of fair play. *shrugs*"

Since you are new, I want to explain a few things to you, and other new players:

1) For years CCP has been a flagship company, catering to the most "hard-core" gamers, elite of the elite. CCP itself was created by a bunch of rabid PVPers and pretty disturbed bunch of individuals. And I mean it all in the best way possible.

2) They have made an extremely competitive game, where the players could be compared to packs of rabid dogs fighting for the carcass of the same wildebeest - the territory, and it's resources.

3) The "offline skill training" took into account the unique approach to skilling up one's character, and allowed the skill system to be upgraded exponentially, creating more and more complex skill-sets available, thus taking more and more time. As the complexity of the skill-set has increased, as the complexity and intensity of the game has increased, the burn-out rate of the players increased with it. I can attest to it, since it happened to me number of times over the years. Major one was in the beginning of 2005, when got rid of my 2003 character because EVE has gotten too much for me personally. I subsequently came back later in 2005 with Jinx Barker.

4) So, we were talking about the complexity of the game, and the skill system. Now, since 2005, in particular, more and more players have experienced similar situation to mine - and since that time CCP top echelons, I should say former top echelons, since most of them have been relocated to the "vampire MMO," have always told the "burnouts" to "take a break, and set a long skill" let the account expire, and "come back when you ready to something new!" The so called "Ghost Training" didn't even have a name, it simply WAS. Was a major part of EVE that allowed people to take a break, and come back reinvigorated, and with a new desire to play, and to find new things waiting for them.

5) The now "evil" Ghost Training was a major selling point, and a major part of EVE. It was not available to "only few and elite" it was not available to "only veteran players" - it was a feature which allowed ALL EVE players to have a special relationship with the company itself; because it showed that CCP does understand the complexity of the game, and the need to take regular breaks. At the same time they have also recognized the need to keep the players interested and involved, to have them coming back for more. Because, lets face it, we were the loyal players, we were the few who were there when server began to climb from 3k to 5k, and then to 10k and so forth, we were rewarded for our loyalty with loyalty by the developers. We were family, friends, co-creators of the world.

6) We, the older players, having been involved with EVE for such a long time, know intricacies, or learned intricacies, of what it takes to run a massive database like EVE, we learned many details from Developers - who were very open about the game design - everything we could learn about the game, and all the "possibles" and "impossibles." Basically the players did become, to a degree, experts on EVE.

5) So, when, five years down the line, we have a new developer come to the community of the dedicated and loyal players, and very much educated EVE players, and tells us that the "evil Ghost Training" causes issues with EVE Database, and it was a bug! There is only one response, to laugh, or giggle like complete crazies, and then to get angry - because it is pure and unadulterated HORSE MANURE. It shows that CCP thinks EVE players are complete morons, or it shows that the dev is so blinking new he does not even know how the game works!

6) To then backtrack,and bring issues of balance into it, or "fair play" is just an excuse. What gets my goat is that they have had chutzpah [sic?]/gaul to actually try and sell us this load of shit thinking we would swallow it! It shows disrespect, it shows complete disregard, and utter indifference to ALL the loyal players of this game, new or old. The old guys just had enough sense to call CCP out on this.

7) Further, fiscally, and long term, the move makes even less sense. Since it will only decrease CCP's "partial" revenue as people consolidate to either single or less account[s]. However, short-term financially, the move makes perfect sense, it forces players to a) shell out $20.00 for transfer fee, b) forces those who have not subscribed/canceled to re-subscribe and pay overall higher premium, and finally c) to re-subscribe, in order to retrieve the character[s] + $20.00 transfer fee as they consolidate.

8) Has nothing to do with the Game Balance either, since the feature was open to anyone and everyone, as mentioned above. And even less with the DB costs, and maintenance, since the way skill mechanic works in EVE is this: the DB compares your initial training time, with the actual training time at the DT, and calculates really quickly what you should have SP-wise. It is almost completely passive, just like the character information DB is completely passive while the account is disabled, just a couple of entires in the DB.

9) We have to conclude then, that what CCP is trying to do is grab some cash, and that they have sank so low as to outright lie to the community, hope it will pass, or get unnoticed.

I hope that clarified a few things.

CSM - The Council Of Stellar Management...

2008-10-18T20:41:00.000-04:00

Well, it is this time of the year again. Almost six months ago the first CSM has been elected, their mandate was to oversee CCP's actions and to bring ideas to the developers of the game, to better the environment for the players.

I think, although with some reservations, that CSM was a success on a number of levels. First, it actually introduced players into the insulated environment of CCP. Second, it was able to function, albeit sluggishly, and on minimal life support, for the entire duration of it's six month tenure.

I must say, however, that with the exception of the few CSM members and their alternates, the general communication from CSM to the player community was very poor. There were many incidents of infighting, and staking out of the territory, including a fair number of virtual brawls on the forums. While I understand that some disagreements might take place, I do not think that CSM as an entity was able to grow on each other, with each other, and with the general EVE community. Six months was too short of a time to actually justify the validity of CSM existence, and served more to cement the position of CCP, and CCP's general agenda, than actual player community as a whole.

Above reservations notwithstanding, I believe that CSM, if it functions properly, is a good idea for the Pod Pilots of New Eden. Should they find a way to work together on things that really matter, and that would affect majority of the pilots.

At the moment I have submitted number of questions to a number of candidates, and, since I have two active accounts, I shall pick maximum of two candidates to vote for based on the replies I receive, and their platforms later on in the election process.

Of course, as soon as I pick a candidate, or candidates, I shall officially endorse them on this blog - not that they would ever need an endorsement from a troublemaker such as myself, or that any benefit should come from such an endorsement - but, I want to delude myself into believing that my voice counts, and, perhaps, will help others make up their minds.

Until next time, yours truly...

J.B.

The CCP Debacle...

2008-10-16T20:43:00.000-04:00

As I have mentioned in my previous post, CCP has disabled what they call "Ghost Training." It is 16th of October, and the feature has been officially removed.

Bellow I am outlining the process CCP has taken to cover it's tracks and to prevent most of the outside world from knowing the actual degree of discontent this has sewn within the EVE player community.

1) October 13th: a Dev Blog by CCP Fallout explains that CCP are canceling the "Ghost Training" because it was an exploit, and a bug. A huge outcry is created on EVE Online forums, and the community at large pointed to number of CCP CEO and Lead Producer statements, as well as an Official Player guide that lists the so-called "Ghost Training" as part of EVE, and one of its features.

2) October 13th: old Dev Blog and the post are promptly deleted. CCP Wrangler Posts the news that a "New Dev Blog" will come out with explanation. Post Edited - and Blog by CCP TorfiFranse further states that it is now a measure to prevent players running accounts on a "shoe-string budget" and it is a BUG... again with the Bugs CCP....

The thread, now 40 pages long, goes "stealth" still accessible by the forum regulars, but no longer accessible by an outside world, nor by just looking at the forum. It is actually a link within an existing announcement.

Thread reaches 80 Pages long...

3) October 14th: CCP TorfiFranse posts the apology, and that they have been completely "oh so busy", and did not realize their own Player Guide called it a Feature, and now they are calling it 'A Bug That Became a Feature,' the thread is still in stealh.

Thread reaches over 90 pages long.... thread is still in stealth mode.....

4) October 15th: CCP Keeps Quiet...... Thread still in Stealth Mode, reaches over 100 pages long....

5) October 16th: CCP releases 4 blogs, announces new expansion, and generally makes allot of positive noises trying to drown out over 4,000 (that's four thousand) outraged users who are still shouting their chagrin to the deaf ears of CCP. Thread is still in stealth mode at the time of this post and quickly approaches 5,000 posts.

Final words:

In the last few days I have been greatly disappointed by the company that I held in the highest esteem and regard for over five years. They have clearly betrayed their player base for a short term monetary gain, and the only thing I can compare their actions are to SOE the NGE expansion that lead to the sharp decline and eventual demise of Star Wars franchise. Only time will tell what effect the removal of this feature will have on EVE online population, I hope that we will survive it, and the long term players find a way to adapt.

A Dark Day for a Veteran Player...

2008-10-14T20:46:00.000-04:00

CCP has decided that they will no longer support the "Ghost Training" feature of EVE Online.

Let me explain a bit further what it means, for those who might be coming after me into this wonderful game - and for those who will be searching for EVE history at some point in the future.

"What is Ghost Training?"

It used to be possible, until October 15th 2008 to finish training skills even if the account became disabled. As many of you know EVE is a demanding game, and even though the skills can be trained while the character is "offline," they still tend to take a good chunk of "real time." Some skills can take up to 45-60 days to train to Level 5.

CCP Developers always touted this as one of their "major" features of the game itself; they always presented it as a sign of how "flexible" EVE really is, well, was. Just 24 hours ago CCP announced that they will not allow the "Ghost Training" and called it a "Bug." A "bug" that they themselves had in the "Skill Training Guide" for almost five years, a touted feature that attracted so many people to EVE.

To make it a bit clearer, I am going to post what the Developers have told the community, three posts, and subsequently my sincere opinion on the matter:

Player News Article:

A statement by CCP Fallout:
"Ghost Training To Be Removed"
Reported by CCP Fallout on 2008.10.13 15:59:54

A long overdue and much needed change will be put in place with the Wednesday, 15 October 2008 patch. Ghost Training, the continuous skill gain on accounts in an inactive or expired state - will no longer function after Wednesday, 15 October 2008. This practice upsets the balance of the game, and capsuleers who actively put their time and energy into working on their characters will no longer be unfairly affected by those few who have not.

Please read Dev Blog for more information.

Dev Blog In Its Entirety:

"Why Ghost Training Was Disabled"
Reported by CCP Torfifranse on 2008.10.13 23:17:25

As many of you know by now, on Wednesday, Oct 15th, CCP will put out a server update disabling "ghost training". Ghost Training was an unintended feature where unpaid accounts of EVE Online were able to continue training skills. While this allowed players to run multiple characters on a shoestring budget, in all effect, this was a bug.

It should be noted that we're not changing offline skill training for active subscribers in any way. This change only affects those who do not have an active subscription.

Does that mean that CCP is a greedy money chewing monster that just loves nerfing things? Of course not. We're a company like everyone else, we make a game, that we happen to love making and for most of us is the passion of our lives. But it's also a company. We make a product, sell it, get salaries and then continue maintaining the product and making it better.

Now I'm not saying that if me personally would be at the other end of this Dev Blog I wouldn't be annoyed by CCP's actions. We are gamers. We game the system. We figure out how to maximize our returns. There's no surprise that people have done this for the simple fact that it wasn't banned per se and also for the fact that it was possible. But recently we have seen a surge in this behavior in a way that we were essentially supporting and maintaining a large number of customers that weren't paying us regular subscriptions. That's not fair towards CCP as a service provider and it's not fair towards other players that pay a subscription but don't make use of this bug.

Now a single customer that doesn't log into the servers may not weigh heavily on our database infrastructure, just as a single snowflake isn't that heavy, hardly a measurable quantity. But it's hard not to notice an avalanche if it hits you. And that's what was starting to happen in our database.

We can look at this from a variety of angles, but it all comes down to:

There was a way to progress a character in EVE without an active subscription

CCP noticed a surge in the trend and decided to fix the leak Players now have to pay a subscription for characters to have them progress. We truly hope that the community will understand our actions and continue to enjoy playing EVE as much as we enjoy making it.

Torfi Frans Olafsson

Senior Producer of EVE Online.

And, finally, the back-pedaling:

Posted on by CCP T0rfifrans on 14/10/2008 23:18:00
“The bug that became a feature”

On Monday, we released news that we are disabling “Ghost Training”, the ability to train characters on inactive accounts. This resulted in strong reactions from the community as many people were routinely making use of it. We explained the matter in more detail and pointed out that this had been a bug in the original game code. Those of us who were involved in the process of making the decision and communicating it to the community did not realize this bug had been so accepted as a feature that it was listed as such in our own documentation on our own website.

How can we not know what‘s in our own documentation? Well, to be frank, it was a case of insufficient communication on our part between various teams – a regrettable mistake and hard lesson to learn at the expense of the trust you‘ve placed in us. There‘s no way to spin it and we won‘t add insult to injury by trying to do so. It was a mistake on our part and for that we sincerely and humbly apologize.

Many would hope that in light of this we will decide not to cancel ghost training and keep it active as an option but we‘re cannot to do that. EVE is already one-of-a-kind in allowing players to progress their characters through offline skill training. We stand by our policy that if you want your character to progress in EVE, you should pay the subscription fee. The fact that so many people have been able to do so for several years was our own oversight. We know this change, and our misstep in telling you about it, has created some discontent and we hope that over time we can prove our commitments to make EVE better than ever for you will be evident as you enjoy the fruits of our labor.

Torfi.

And now, my humble opinion and response to this fiasco:

I am sorry Torfi, but this is damage control, pure and simple, and do not think for a second that most of us do not see through it.

What your superiors have done is taken away a feature that was a major selling point for many people.

EVE is an addicting game, and a major hobby for the most of us. Because CCP has encouraged dual-boxing, and dual-accounting, for so many years it has become a major part of the game. After a while EVE will have an effect on a player where we simply have to take a break, and having the so-called "ghost training" was one bright spot - we could set that "special" skill that we did not quite get to, and walk away for a month, knowing full-well that when we come back we will have another avenue to explore within the game world.

It was exciting, and nice to know that you as company pretty much understood us, the adult players, with families, jobs, army service, business trips and mortgages, and car payments. It was very nice to know that despite being bogged down by real life there was a small pleasure to come back to when I hit that "reactivate account" button.

You have taken it away because you want money, pure and simple. And, in short term, it will bring you more money - in the long term, all those short attention span kids with daddy's and mommy’s credit cards will go away, and you would have most likely have lost your core gamers, the ones who stuck with you through 5 years, and would have probably stayed for longer still.

I know, I am sounding like a broken violin, but I am so very much disappointed, ever since Oveur and others have left CCP you guys act and deal with us, loyal players like strangers. I have always felt more like family with the other guys, what happened guys? What are you doing? Is EVE not important anymore? I guess things change.

I never said "I would cancel my bazillion accounts", I only have two, but I am seriously thinking of consolidating into one, and just seeing how it goes, and where you guys will take us next. I am an adult, and I will deal with it like an adult, no whines from me, just wanted to let you know how deeply I am disappointed in what you have done.

Jinx Barker, a Loyal CCP Customer for the last 5 years.

Glimpse at the coronation footage of Empress Jamyl The First...

2008-10-11T23:30:00.000-04:00

Ministry Of Internal Order releases coronation Footage

Amarr - Amarr Certified News secured permission from the Ministry of Internal Order to release exclusive footage of the historic coronation of Empress Jamyl I. Withheld for security reasons, the media contains rare footage of the famed Imperial Domain Fleet as it gathered before the Emperor Family Station in Amarr last week for the spectacular event. The fleet has since been deployed to its "undisclosed wartime assignments".

The video can be obtained here and a higher quality feed is also available here.

Jamyl Sarum - The New Empress of Amarr Empire

2008-10-11T23:14:00.000-04:00

Full News Coverage can be be seen by following the linked file.

Coronation of empress Jamyl launches new era for the Amarr empire

Amarr - Jamyl Sarum, the resurgent heir to the Sarum royal family, was today crowned Empress of the Amarr Empire. In a ceremony that began with her arrival amidst a huge assembly of Imperial Navy warships, interim Court Chamberlain Hemirin placed the sacred crown upon Her Majesty, declaring her the "Holy Ordained Empress of Creation".

Delivering a powerful opening speech, Empress Jamyl boldly announced the start of a new Reclaiming, calling on all those of faith to "stand by her side" as the Empire recovered from "the excesses of a misguided path". Seemingly mindful of those questioning the merit of her rule, she ended her address with a forceful demand for loyalty, possibly directed at the remaining heirs, with a vow to return "what others give to the Empire [sic]".

If there were any doubts about the legitimacy of her ascension, no such sentiment was present among the thousands of Holders and clergy present for the historic occasion. The spectacular coronation was held within the massive vaulted chambers of St. Kuria the Prophet Cathedral in Amarr, which has also witnessed the mourning of Emperor Heideran; the coronation and funeral of Emperor Doriam II; and the proxy rule of Chamberlain Dochuta Karsoth, who is believed to have fled during the Minmatar Elder's invasion of Amarr earlier this year.

Ohhhh Goodies... Black Ops Level 4... erhmm.. WTF...

2008-09-12T21:38:00.000-04:00

Anyhow, just a short update, since if you look at JB's skills you will see that I am somewhat anal when it comes to keeping him trim and nice. So, we can't have any skills bellow L4, or L5. And, Black Ops was the last skill at L1 since my hiatus.

By the way, by the time it finishes I should be well on the way to 57 Mill SP... I am thinking of buying a Fedo when I reach 60. Too Bad CCP does not allow us to have them.

I will update again on a project I have been supporting for close to two years now - those of you who frequent EVE-O forums would probably know it. But, anyway, just tootles for now.

The Titian Project....

2008-07-23T22:32:00.000-04:00

Well, an interesting thing happened... I have commissioned a local EVE artist to create a work of art with Jinx as the subject.

One of my favorite paintings is called A Man In A Red Cap, by Titian. If you must know

more, well, then follow this link on Titian in Wikipedia.

But, no matter, one peculiar point is that the original subject is not known, and I thought it would be interesting to incorporate Jinx into it.

So, I contacted Leonardo DiJita, look him up in game, and he came up with this pretty amazing rendering of the original:

The full version can be seen here, I have uploaded it to EVE Files, please note that the file is rather large, but the rendering is pretty good.

53 Million SP +

2008-07-23T22:22:00.000-04:00

Finally had little time to update the blog.

JB has reached the 53 Million SP, and is climbing. I feel little odd, was thinking I would want some special skills, maybe. Something unique, or rare?

Intelligence Analyst, that was an interesting sounding skill; of course I forgot that it was never introduced into the game, and is just part of the DB, figures.

Still, would be nice to have, if it was possible.

Still Working....

2008-03-29T08:52:00.001-04:00

Got Widow and Golem BPCs today, will have my trusty "Sancho Pansa" of an ALT build the toys, then off to try and get them blown to bits!

Other than that, slowly climbing to 50 Million SP. As a matter of fact, trying my hardest not to go and splurge on different skills needed to fly a Capital Ship. Still, will focus on the T2 BS variants, before I go for the Caps.

An update, of sorts....

2008-02-13T18:07:00.000-05:00

Jinx is currently inactive. Time to take the much needed rest, and train that Caldari Battleship to Level 5!
Will do a little update once the account is reactivated in March.

P.S.
I have switched to using Apple Computers a while ago, till very recently I had to use Bootcamp to play EVE in XP. However, since CCP has added Mac Client, I am really happy again. Hence, the new "Apple" logo link.

August: Skill Training Update

2006-08-22T20:31:00.000-04:00

Well,
Jinx has finally broke the 30 Million Skill-point barrier!
One of the highlights is the Gunnery with 22.71% overall percentage points, 12 Level 4 Skills and 8 Level 5 Skills.
With the total gained of 7,006,513 SP.

Some Comments from Oveur:

2006-06-16T01:36:00.000-04:00

Recently I have had an opportunity to ask Oveur, the big ‘honcho’ at CCP, some questions. Bellow is a transcript of my 'personal' Q&A.

Question: What about Developer chats? I know that allot of changes have taken place regarding the format and place to hold them. Will they ever come back?
Answer:
Dev chats are returning, although in changed form. We have also hired Wrangler as assistant community manager so there should be more room in the schedule to do them.

Question: Regarding the issue of old and 'defunct' corporation in EVE. Are there any plans to delete them and release the tickers?
Answer:
We actually have been getting quite a lot of requests about the older corps. We never delete corporations or characters so it is a very big policy change for us. Perhaps it’s the right time. After more than 1 million account created and god know how many corporation started, it’s probably time, since about 800.000 of those are trial accounts over a three year period, there is a lot in there which could probably be deleted.

Question: The upcoming expansion codenamed Kali and the issues of 'Factional' warfare. Will there be a possibility for players to 'redeem' themselves, if, and once they have reached the [-5] standing with their enemies?
Answer:
Regarding Factional Warfare it’s too early to tell how – or if at all – you will be able to redeem yourself. EVE is a game of consequences (or more correctly, we try to have it such) and I’m not convinced we should add further measures than are already in there today for you to gain standing. However, there are things which can help, which would be ways in general to increase negative standing that we might look into, but certainly nothing of the likes of amnesty. However, it remains to be seen how severe the consequences are and against whom. This is not something that sets you to -10 towards the empires and everything belonging to it, not at all, this is “sanctioned civilized warfare” as such. If there ever is such a thing.

Question: Any comments on the 'Player Housing' and Small/Personal POS? I know it is on the drawing board.
Answer:
We’re far from abandoning the smaller and personal player owned structures. I can’t tell you anything concrete at this point in time, I have a lot of other projects and promises I have to get done first and I’m afraid I can only pull so much out of my sleeve now and again.

CERBERUS:

2006-06-16T00:58:00.000-04:00

Well, after a long while I am finally able to fly a 'HAC' or Heavy Assult Cruiser. This thing eats through missions like a hot knife through butter, simply amazing.

Bellow are some specs:
Hull: Caracal Class
Role: Heavy Assault Ship
No cruiser currently in existence can match the superiority
of the Cerberus's onboard missile system. With a
well-trained pilot jacked in, this fanged horror is capable of
unleashing a hail of missiles to send even the most
seasoned armor tankers running for cover.
Developer: Lai Dai
Moving away from their traditionally balanced all-round
designs, Lai Dai have created a very specialized - and
dangerous - missile boat in the Cerberus. Many have
speculated that due to recent friction between Caldari
megacorporations, LD may be looking to beef up their own
police force with these missile-spewing monstrosities.

Caldari Cruiser Skill Bonus:
5% bonus to Kinetic Missile
damage and 10% bonus to Missile velocity per level

Heavy Assault Ship Skill Bonus:
10% bonus Light and
Heavy Missile flight time and 5% bonus to Missile Launcher
rate of fire per level

Latest Skill-Points Breakdown:

2006-06-14T19:10:00.000-04:00

Category Name	Pct%	0's	1's	2's	3's	4's	5's	Category Total
Corporation Management	00.01%	1	1	1	0	0	0	2,191
Electronics	08.34%	0	0	1	2	3	3	1,483,538
Engineering	14.27%	0	1	0	1	9	4	2,538,498
Gunnery	05.24%	0	0	5	3	2	1	931,373
Industry	01.44%	0	1	0	0	0	1	256,250
Leadership	00.04%	0	0	0	1	0	0	8,000
Learning	10.25%	0	0	0	0	4	5	1,823,060
Mechanic	01.57%	0	0	0	2	0	1	280,000
Missile Launcher Operation	21.40%	0	0	0	0	11	2	3,806,804
Navigation	06.58%	0	0	0	1	4	2	1,170,100
Science	04.85%	0	0	1	0	2	1	862,753
Social	00.26%	0	0	2	5	0	0	47,072
Spaceship Command	25.75%	0	1	1	3	7	4	4,579,976
		1	4	11	18	42	24	17,789,615
		1%	4%	11%	18%	42%	24%

RATTLESNAKE

2006-03-25T22:12:00.000-05:00

Well, I bit the bullet and sold my Caldari Navy Issue Raven today. Truth be told, this wasn’t such a big deal since I got the Blueprint Copy for this ship from a silly industrial pilot who tried to sneak it into empire.

I did, however, put the ISK to good use, I bought a Rattlesnake, a Guristas Pirates flag battleship a nice new toy to do missions in and kill stuff.

Once I get it all setup I shall add the information regarding modules and how well she kills.

Habitats

2006-03-11T19:04:00.000-05:00

Recently, on the EVE forums someone brought up an idea of small player owned habitats. I have often put the above-mentioned idea forth myself, however, until now it met with a rather limited success. In any event, after some prolonged discussion I have had a chance to actually point one of the developers toward the thread. To my great satisfaction the idea has been picked up by the developers of EVE, and it is currently on the “Drawing Board.” This made me very happy indeed.

Bellow I am publishing a summary of the discussion, and I shall be coming back to this subject, time permitting, when I have more news and ideas to add.

General Summary:

Habitat/Structure can be anchored anywhere in space, in any sovereignty, with one exception, Empire. In Empire, they cannot be anchored in .9-1.0 systems. Others suggested that they should be placed in Dead Space Pockets Only. I personally lean toward restricting them in High Security Empire systems. Thus, allowing people in 0.0 through 0.8 own a structure.
Habitats should have High/Med/Low slot layout, like a ship, thus utilising internal PG/CPU to control the devices like guns, missile batteries and cloaking devices, etc. In other words they will be a single, self-sustained unit, there will be no need to anchor additional devices, at least not in the beginning.
Perhaps the Habitat constructs can be upgraded, by using finite and mineable materials. Perhaps even incorporate T2 components into it, or some sort of POS producible, to further support the expanding POS markets. Perhaps allow for PG/CPU upgrades.
Habitat units should not be invulnerable to an attack. They should be susceptible to a conventional warfare tactics, not unlike like battleships, cruisers and frigates.
They should be a legitimate war-target, if the owner is in a corporation at war. They should be able to defend themselves, but cannot go into a “reinforced” mode or anything like that. Others argue that they should be able to go into reinforced mode & require Calthrates to sustain.
They have to be locatable via scan-probing and so forth. But should not show up as a warpable object in the scanner. Unless, the cloaking device is malfunctioning – then the habitat can become a “subspace phenomena” and can be warped to.
They should also have some sort of functionality other than a “home in space”. Perhaps with adequate upgrades (see #3) they can have small refining and reprocessing and even repair facility. They could become permanent, but then they would be susceptible to attacks by other players if in 0.0 or low security areas, as well as war target in Empire. However, in Alliance controlled territories they as good as indestructible, since they are, theoretically, under the protection of the alliance force.
Habitat should have a limited amount of storage Space. Some people suggested a 5,000m/3 for a small one, and up to 50,000m/3 for a large unit. Thus, they should vary by size and accommodate appropriate vessels accordingly. However, upon further discussion it seems that the above numbers are rather limited and should be looked at. After scanning through some threads it would appear that most people prefer 1 Mill/m3 for a Small one, and up to 5-7 Mill/m3 for a "Large" Habitat.
Habitats can be “designed” to accommodate appropriate uses, or uses according to wishes of their designer. They can vary in appearance, fairly easy to pull off with the game like EVE, and thus have unique qualities accorded to them by a designer: Hollowed out Asteroids, Discarded Spaceship hulks, things used in construction of it like depleted station batteries and what not. Basically make them look like Minmatar ships (my apologies to Minmatar, I couldn’t help myself). Some suggested that the construction of the can be done in stages, where special ship-type, perhaps, can be used, and a modable BPO can be released and "tweaked" by those who desire to improve on the "standard" design.

At some point it would be possible to develop a profession out of it: A habitat designer/builder. Perhaps all corporations that choose to specialise in such endeavours, can come to a point where they can actually patent their design via blueprint copies. We all know that most efficient design vs. use info will spread quickly. Perhaps create special Habitat Construction Modules for POS owners who can then build them and sell them to the rest of us. At the same time it might create a market for a faction owned POS that can be rented for the design/build purposes by those who do not have access to a POS
One should be able to secure the habitat from entry by other players. Perhaps with specifically set password one can dock, as can his friends. At the same time, and I just thought of it, when Habitats are destroyed by an adversary they should drop some portion of the loot currently held within them. Just like when the ship is destroyed it drops a can with stuff. Also a great new field for legitimate corporate spies and thieves to foray their strengths.
Some people want them to use fuel to power up the components or keep the battery charged or something. Others want the habitats not use any fuel – unless they are engaged in combat. Fuel involved, or rather according to posts, the desired fuel ranges from POS standard isotopes and Caltrates, to regular maintenance of the Habitat with Consumer Products and common minerals. This is a pretty wide-ranging debate.

Further info on Ownership and Transfer Logistics:

Everyone far agreed that limiting number of habitats per system could be another great thing to do. It will ferment discontent and wars, since people would want a nice spot. It will also support real Estate trade, where you can actually sell a Habitat to another player. Legitimate Real Estate trading can be performed via easily implemented voucher system. Lets say upon building a habitat you will have an ownership voucher, like a deed, something that would look very similar to Pirate Ship Logs. There will be information regarding the Habitat, all its stats, location, security level of the system, etc.

At the same time, if the voucher is lost, if the owner carried the voucher in his cargohold and was blown up, there are two consequences:

1) If voucher is destroyed, the habitat automatically self-destructs
OR
2) If the voucher is picked up by a new player/or the aggressor/whoever finds the can, he automatically becomes an owner of the habitat.

In second case, the Habitat retains its password/security until a “new owner arrives”. Upon his attempt to dock, he must have the voucher in cargohold; he will be given an opportunity to change the password. Also, even though previous security measure were still in effect, including password, the former owner is still locked out of the habitat. It will prevent disgruntled victims from docking with their former property and cleaning it out or self-destructing it.

And finally, having a voucher in the cargohold will allow the entrance into the Habitat password free. This could be useful in case of forgotten passwords - and it will expose vouchers to the possibility of being lost if you are attacked on the way.

They could also be placed in the Escrow - where potential buyer can see the habitat information and gauge for himself if he wants to buy it. Thus making vouchers readable, but not useful if they are in Escrow, at least not until they are claimed and ownership is transferred. Again, Voucher in Cargohold=Password free entry will mean that the seller doesn’t have to do anything as far as security is concerned. A fact that the voucher is no longer in his possession automatically revokes his ownership while retaining habitat as secure for a new owner.

In order to prevent Scams on Escrow, where an "Empty" voucher can be sold - in case habitat is no longer there, if it blew up or was destroyed or what not - the voucher would destroy itself as well. Thus two would be linked, if one goes so does the other. No way to scam people with "fake" vouchers.

This will make peeps keep vouchers/deeds/titles as safe as their own BPOs

ADDITIONAL INFO. ON HABITAT PLACEMENT & CONSTRUCTION:

Most everyone agreed that Habitats must be limited in numbers per-system. There is a debate, however, as to a Security Rating of a system where Habitats should be allowed. On a System Security Issue, I would still go with the idea that even carebears in Empire must be allowed to have their rocks! However, I do believe that placing them in above .8 systems will cause undue hardship on the servers.

Regarding the number of Habitats per system, here is a suggestion. Lets take POS as an example. In theory, a POS can be anchored at ALL of the Moons orbiting the star in the system. So, if there are 20 Moons, then 20 POS' can be erected. As a starting premise lets presume that the number of habitats can be, should be, limited to the number of moons in the system. If CCP has created POS system, and allows them to be anchored at moons, we can safely assume that if Habitat number is limited to number of moons in the system - the lag issue should not arise.

Furthermore, the habitats ought to be RESTRICTED from being anchored near moons. That’s correct, I think the restriction is good, it will allow a proper POS development that would be un-hindered by Habitat expansion. The only reason we are talking about moons is to shake down a minimum number of Habitats per system.

Habitats Platforms, once build, will be taken out to the specific location and launched, very similar to how outposts building is designed. Once the Platform is launched, the owner of it shall hit an "Assemble" button or menu, and the process of construction will begin. Details can be worked out later.

The "Beast"

2006-03-09T20:35:00.000-05:00

Well, recently I bought an Alienware “Laptop.” I am using the term “Laptop” rather loosely in this case – since the beast weighs at about 19Lbs. loaded. However, I must say that for my purpose it fits the bill. I only rarely travel, spending about nine months out of the year in UK and Summer in USA. I must admit, however, that this is indeed one of the best mobile systems I have ever owned. Hell, it will rival most desktops in performance. Anyway, I think I will cover the basics of running multiple accounts simultaneously here.

The main thing to remember is to create a separate directory /secondary instance of the client. I noticed that if you run the game from a single directory the CPU load is much greater, than if EVE runs from a separate location. It would further help if you have more than 1Gig of RAM, since we all know how CPU/RAM hungry the game is. You don’t need to do anything special to setup a second, or even a third, instance; just copy the original directory to a new location, create a shortcut and it is done.

Bellow are the specs of the machine I am currently using to run three separate instances.

Operating System:
Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional Edition
Processors & Chipset:
Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor with HT Technology
(3.6GHz, 800MHz FSB, 1MB Cache, Socket 775)
Intel 915P + ICH6 chipset
Graphics and Video:
NVIDIA GeForce GO 6800 with 256MB DDR3
Memory:
2GB CORSAIR PC2-4200 DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz.
Drive Bays:
24X/60X - CDRW/DVD
24X/14X - DVDR/DVROM
I/O Ports:
IEEE 1394: Two mini IEEE 1934a (4-pin) ports
USB: 4 Hi-speed USB 2.0 ports
Network: Integrated Gigabit Ethernet RJ-45
Modem: Integrated 56K V.92 modem RJ-11
Infrared: Infrared port for Data transfer
Internally accessible:
Dual 60GB Hitachi HDD/Raid: 0
Total 120GB.
LCD Panel:
17” WideXGA+ 1400x900 LCD Display

The Ships

2006-03-08T20:50:00.000-05:00

[RATTLESNAKE]
In the time-honored tradition of pirates everywhere, Korako ‘Rabbit' Kosakami shamelessly stole the idea of the Scorpion-class battleship and put his own spin on it.

The result: the fearsome Rattlesnake, flagship of any large Gurista attack force. There are, of course, also those who claim things were the other way around; that the notorious silence surrounding the Scorpion's own origins is, in fact, an indication of its having been designed by Kosakami all along.

Special Ability:
50% bonus to Cruise Missile and Torpedo velocity
Caldari Battleship Skill Bonus: 5% bonus to Cruise Missile & Torpedo ROF per level
Gallente Battleship Skill Bonus: 5% bonus to LG Hybrid Turret damage per level

[CALDARI NAVY ISSUE RAVEN]
The Navy Issue Raven represents the best the Caldari have to offer on the battlefield: an all-out assault vessel with tremendous electronic warfare capabilities.

Commissioned by Caldari Navy Special Operations Command a decade ago in response to a spate of coordinated Gurista attacks which threatened to decimate the populations of several planets in the Obe system, this hefty warship has since proven its worth many times over.
Special Ability:
5% bonus to Missile Launcher Rate Of Fire & 10% bonus to Missile Velocity per level of skill

[CYNABAL]

The Cynabal was one of the earliest designs put forth by the Angel Cartel, and to this day it remains their most-used. The ship's origins are unknown, but as with most Cartel ships persistent rumors of Jovian influence continue to linger. Whether they have basis in reality or not, the facts are on the table: the Cynabal is the fastest, one of the most powerful cruisers to be found anywhere.

Special Ability:
25% bonus to Medium Projectile Turret rate of fire
Minmatar Cruiser Skill Bonus: 5% bonus to Medium Projectile Turret damage per level Gallente Cruiser Skill Bonus: 5% bonus to Medium Projectile Turret tracking speed per level

Red Moon Rising & Jump-Clones

2006-03-08T19:27:00.000-05:00

Advent of RMR (Red Moon Rising) has brought us the next stage of capsuleer technology: Rapid Fleet Deployment. By combining advancements in pod and cloning technology, pilots are now able to "jump" instantaneously between clones without sacrificing skill points but leave the enhanced benefit of implants behind, provided that the clones are exact replicas of the originating specimen. This capability will facilitate the rapid transport and deployment of pilots to specially equipped "receiving" capital ships on or near the battlefield, irrespective of the pilot's current physical location.

Jumping to stations is also possible but Faction owned stations do not allow jumping to them unless the minimum 8.0 corporation and personal standings requirements are met. One thing to remember is that the owner of Outposts and Conquerable Stations control standings prerequisites. Only one (1) jump per 24 hours is allowed to prevent serious mental and physical harm to the mind and bodies. You have to have visited the location you want to jump to and install a clone there.

So, a little while ago I have gone out to a friend’s corporation and had installed four Jump-Clones myself. The restrictions placed on Jump-Clone installations are rather arduous. Not only must a pilot have an 8.0 standing with the clone-issuing corporation, the corporation to which the aforementioned pilot belongs must have at least an 8.0 standing. Thankfully my friend is running a “one-man show”, and has a high standing, above 8.0 with Federation Navy. It helped quite a bit to have my own standing with Federation Authorities of above 8.0.

Signature Contest Update:

2006-03-08T13:45:00.000-05:00

As I have planned, here is an update on my signature contest. It wound up costing me a bit more than I have anticipated, but I think it was well worth it. The contest itself lasted for little over a week, due to some problems with EVE-Online website.

The Grand Prize winner has developed a very uncomplicated and smart signature. He was able to utilise humour and JB's insanity in a very simple but elegant form. At the same time he achieved a perfect balance between words and images. I liked the incorporation of pastel colours in combination with the retro Sci-Fi theme.

Winter Star won Grand Prize for the “An Accident Waiting To Happen” Signature.

The 2nd Prize-Winner has submitted a number of unique and riveting designs. He relied more on JB's obsession with cybernetics than retro Sci-Fi. He captured my desire to enhance JB with some mechanical uniqueness. As a result he chose to concentrate on the dichotomy of Man vs. Machine.

Traiben Mightius won Second Prize for the "Jinx Barker: Man or Machine?" Signature.

The 3rd Prize-Winner used a style ala The Goldmember, combining it with some other provided material. In this case Brother Benthor decided to incorporate a neo-retro style with Frankenstein.

Brother Benthor took the 3rd Prize, for "It's Aliveeeee!!" Signature.

And finally, Traiben Mightius for the “Rocket Man” Signature took the 4th prize.

March Skill-Points Brealdown:

2006-03-08T12:28:00.000-05:00

Category Name	Pct%	0's	1's	2's	3's	4's	5's	Category Total
Corporation Management	00.02%	0	1	1	0	0	0	2,180
Electronics	10.99%	0	1	2	0	3	3	1,440,531
Engineering	11.30%	0	1	4	2	5	3	1,481,029
Gunnery	02.03%	0	0	6	2	2	0	266,094
Industry	01.95%	0	1	0	0	0	1	256,250
Leadership	00.06%	0	0	0	1	0	0	8,000
Learning	13.91%	0	0	0	0	4	5	1,823,060
Mechanic	02.08%	0	1	0	1	0	1	272,729
Missile Launcher Operation	19.86%	0	1	0	4	6	2	2,603,685
Navigation	08.93%	0	0	0	1	4	2	1,170,100
Science	06.28%	0	1	0	1	1	1	823,037
Social	00.35%	0	1	1	5	0	0	46,172
Spaceship Command	22.25%	0	0	1	5	5	3	2,917,426
		0	8	15	22	30	21	13,110,293

MARKET WATCH

2006-02-21T04:31:00.000-05:00

Article first published in the Gallente Financial Observer issue #3460A regular column dealing with the latest corporate news and market analysis throughout federation space.

When is a bank not a bank?
By Florent Olivier

Headquartered in Yulai X, DED Assembly Plant the Gallente Federal Bank is one of the smaller but most forward looking financial institutions that you will currently find. It's main areas of interest have traditionally been the industrial and engineering sectors but in recent times a significant shift towards active participation in the defence sector has been noted. Gradually GFB has acquired controlling interests in several strategic, production and research facilities. Due to downturns in various markets these facilities were sliding into bankruptcy and corporate oblivion. With any other investment partner these failing facilities would certainly have faced the prospect of asset stripping and liquidation. Instead, the board of GFB under the personal advisement of CEO Felaste D'Lucare took the visionary decision to consolidate these assets into a single more profitable organisation operating under the GFB banner to be run for the benefit of all existing creditors (of which GFB was the largest).

Most market analysts have speculated that as this 'corporation within a corporation' becomes larger and more profitable, there will be pressure on GFB to cut it loose and float it as an independent entity. However, this analyst believes that we may in fact see something completely the opposite occurring. The recently publicised R&D investments, system wide reports of expanded mining activities, steady production of the notable Ishtar heavy assault cruiser and appointment of the infamous Debovine as COO could, when taken together in context, be seen as a wholly metamorphic event. It is not beyond the realms of possibility that GFB will soon, if it hasn't already, become a bank in name only. It's distinguished record as an investment bank cannot be disputed but the profitability of this new venture looks set to far surpass any of their previous enterprises. There has been unanimous and public commitment from the board to the vision of Felaste D'Lucare and, given time and space to grow, GFB has the potential to emerge as a serious player in the defence sector. Investors with an interest in this market area should watch the situation closely and be prepared to act quickly in response to any further developments.

[editorial comment : Shortly after publication of this article, unconfirmed rumours have surfaced that GFB spokesperson Jinx Barker is preparing to announce that GFB will indeed be divesting itself of all other interests and refocusing entirely as a defence contractor specialising in the production of advanced military technology. Further rumours that this information came to light only as the result of an undercover reporter posing as an exotic dancer in a 'bar' frequented by Mr Barker are also as yet unconfirmed.]

End of article

Article Provided courtesy of: Bael Lightstorm
http://botchandango.blogs.com/eve/

100 Million ISK Signature Contest

2006-02-19T19:58:00.000-05:00

I was rather bored last week, so I have decided to run a signature contest for Jinx. The winner would recieve a sizable reward and Jinx would get a decent set of signatures. I shall post in the few days the winning siggies.

Insta-Jumps and Safe-Spots

2006-02-19T19:45:00.000-05:00

BOOKMARKS! The number one lifesaver in eve! Take a fast frigate or a shuttle, map your insta-jumps all the way to your destination. Make sure you have folders for each route, and keep everything well labelled. On the other hand, if you ever come across a full Regional insta-jump sets, best way to keep it organised is by Region Name in your PnP folder, where each folder is named after a Region and all bookmarks are contained therewith.

SAFESPOTS, a number two lifesaver in EVE. For those that don't know, a SFAESPOT is basically just an empty piece of space. To make one, simply go into warp, create a bookmark on the way, and warp back to it.

The only way to crack a SAFESPOT is with scan probes, which in my experience don't work unless you are AFK. If you think someone is probing, make a few other SAFESPOTS and cycle between them every 5 minutes.

To sum up, if you think someone is chasing you, get to your SAFESPOT ASAP. Do not go to a planet, and never ever go to a moon! It will take a matter of minutes to find someone at a planet, and people put POS's at moons (if you are in .4 or bellow), if this means making SAFESPOTS on the fly, that’s cool. Jump around belts until you have one setup.

And finally, your home! In the systems that you use most often, don’t use gate-to-gate bookmarks. Or you will have to go to one gate, to get to another Instead, take them from your POS/safe spot to the gate. In other words, when in times of war always warp to a SAFESPOT and from the safespot warp to an appropriate gate – and again, make sure you have the route Insta-Jumped!

As most things in life, experience is the biggest teacher. So I really recommend going out there and having a shot yourself at making bookmarks.

Making a Safe Spot:

Have your scanner open. Open PnP/People & Places Folder. Remember that bookmark is not made until you actually press OK.

Warp from a Planet/Moon/Belt/Your Current Position “A” to your destination “B” (again, it can be a moon, gate, belt etc…). Watch your scanner, and keep in mind that you are flying in a straight line. You are NOT safe yet, not even remotely. As you are flying from point “A” to point “B” – make a random bookmark, somewhere in flight – Make it Point “C”

Next, warp to point “C” and, from there, warp again to point “D” (belt, moon, gate, etc). Make sure your warp path is sufficiently random/in random direction. Make a bookmark somewhere between point “C” and point “D” – make it a point “F”. The bookmark that you have just made – can be used a safespot, since it is in the middle of nowhere, and you can only be located via Scan Probes. Now, you MUST have at least 3 or 4 SAFESPOTS in the system where you plan to operate. This will allow you to cycle through your SAFESPOTS, warp from one to another every few minutes, preventing an enemy from locating you via scan probes.

You can make your bookmarks/safespots as complex as possible, or as simple as possible. I would recommend complex, obviously. Never make a SAFESPOT in a direct/line of sight/flight between any two celestial objects. They are not safe and you can be located in seconds, w/o any warning. Redundant as it sounds, make at least 3 safespots, more than 3 is preferable! Always cycle through your safespots – never go AFK in one. If you must go AFK, LOG, otherwise you will be found if the covert ops frig is in the area – and they usually are.

A fresh clone has arrived!

2006-02-19T18:30:00.000-05:00

Well, a fresh clone has arrived indeed. This is a first entry in the "Barking Mad" blog. More to come, dpending on the situation. At this time, however, I am in the process of learning all the 'ins and outs' of the blog system.

Cheers, for now.